


Negotiations

by Mythril (fantacination)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Humor, Jealous Shiro (Voltron), Keith is not allowed to do negotiations on his own, M/M, Shiro and Lotor don't get along, black paladin!Keith, no longer canon compliant, pre-S3 fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-07 03:38:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11050539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fantacination/pseuds/Mythril
Summary: Lotor brings gifts--and an offer. Shiro is displeased.





	Negotiations

Perhaps it’s his birth which makes him so, but Lotor is intrigued.

The current Black Paladin is small, barely coming up to his shoulder, with a spine of Wurtzite, unyielding. His dark eyes flash with banked fire, just strange enough to be interesting, without being grossly hideous. He is a Luxite blade, full of hidden potential that calls to Lotor’s fascination of things strange and exotic.

Besides, he and his team are so _very_ fun to play with.

“What is it?” The Paladin asks warily. His eyes flick over Lotor’s gift.

“A token of my sentiments,” Lotor smiles lazily, one booted toe tipping the seequ’s side. It squeals, twin tails lashing angrily.

“Okay,” the Paladin says, after a pause. “So you want to truss us up like a pig?”

“Among others,” Lotor purrs, enjoying the double entendre and the way the _former_ Black Paladin stiffens, his wariness sharpening to outright hostility. It’s a look that would be familiar to any regular patron of the Arena. The Champion stands barely a foot away from the current Black Paladin, glaring as though Lotor had come to make away with his denmate.

He supposes that isn’t entirely inaccurate. But he’s always liked sets.

He turns his eye to the taller paladin, letting his gaze wander. This one, at least, is familiar with games. He can see the flinch in his face even as he touched the shorter man’s shoulder.

“Right, so you felt like you needed a gift to tell us you want to capture Voltron because--?” The Black Paladin questions, mouth a confused twist.

“I felt a personal touch was required to show you the depth of my intentions.”

“With a box of jewelry?” He pokes dubiously at the hovering metal chest with a gauntleted hand.

Lotor shrugs. “It’s tradition. Of course, they would normally be carved from the bones of our enemies.”

“And the fur is…”

“I do pity you diminutive creatures lack of proper covering. Why, if I plucked the fabric from your armor, there’d be nothing between my claws and your skin, is there?” Lotor let his voice drop, allowing the smirk to curve his lips as he leaned close, fingers outstretched.

The Black Lion’s former pilot stepped between them abruptly. “Thanks, but no thanks. We’re not interested. We only came here to discuss the ceasefire agreement for Arrus.”

“I’m certain the Black Paladin’s capable of speaking for himself,” Lotor says serenely, enjoying the angered flush that fills the taller paladin’s cheeks.

“Why are you doing this? What are these gifts for? We don’t need them and we won’t put anything up as collateral against them.”

“Hey guys,” the large one at the back whispers. “Is it just me or is this kinda--”

“Courting gifts,” the Prince answers smoothly.

“ _What_?!” the blue one squawks, quickly shushed by the others.

“No, absolutely not. I can’t believe this is even happening. Keith, we can’t agree to this.” The Champion grabs the Black Paladin’s shoulder, entreating.

‘Keith’ frowns and folds his arms, puzzling things out. “You want to date Voltron?”

It sparks an instant flurry of protests from the screechy human. “Hands off Blue! She’s not interested in seeing other people!”

“I don’t think dating a giant robot is a thing--”

“Didn’t stop Zarkon--”

“Hey! Robots have feelings, too!”

“No, no, I’m putting my foot down. They can take Keith, not my baby.”

“Voltron’s technically over ten thousand years old-”

Really, the whole clutch of them would do very well at entertaining the Empire’s masses. It’s truly a pity they can’t be all allowed to live.

“I’m not a greedy man,” Lotor offers, instead. “I’d be quite content with your esteemed company for the duration of the ceasefire. I’m sure a tour of our Capitol will help convince you we have more in common than you think.” He shifts, leaning around the Champion. “After all, a trip to your ancestral home is surely only what is owed to any son of Gal.”

The Black Paladin hesitates. The desire to learn more of his heritage is as strong as their informants suggest.

“Keith, you aren’t actually considering--”

“We need the time for the Arrusians to recover.”

“I didn’t leave you in charge so you could make reckless decisions.”

“The invite applies to you both, if you would so wish. In good faith,” Lotor mentions off-handedly. He steps back, just, allowing the Champion’s primitive bristling to subside.

“We-”

“Decline,” the Champion says firmly, still between Lotor and the Black Paladin. He turns, a little, his hand touching the small of his friend’s waist.

“Shiro...” His successor protests, but he leans into the touch, a subconscious reaction, given the way his brow is still knitted in confusion.  

“Are you certain?” Lotor asks silkily. “I’d love to show you around the city. Kapikh suns produce beautiful colors, this time of the year, the light shines through the City prisms and fountains. Many visitors have fallen for the charms of Gundhu city center, where all cultures of the Empire meet and prosper. You'd have anything you can see, any trinket you can touch, so long as you stayed by my side.”

Lotor smiles, a flash of sharp teeth.“The evenings, of course, are better still. I’m sure you'll find our warm hospitality multiplies by the stars that blanket our sky. You will be my honored guest, naturally. You will want for nothing in my chambers.”

Keith hesitates and the Champions arm slips around his waist, squeezing. The alarm on the older man’s face is the picture of threat. If a cub could be threatening. “Stop right there. I don't know what you think this is about, but Keith isn't… available for that.”

“Isn't he? Does he belong to you, Champion?”

Despite being nearly a foot shorter than the Prince, he meets the prince’s gaze with level calm. “What if he does?”

The confusion in his fellow Paladin’s face shows the lie for what it is.

Lotor chuckles at his defiance anyway. It'll look nice, stripped from his face. “Then the solution is simple. We simply need to own you once again.”

The thread of conversation seems to finally register on the Black Paladin. “You can’t have Shiro.”

Lotor laughs at that. “I bid you reconsider.” He steps back, the clank of his boots like the snap of an order. “After all, the Arrusians may not last much longer without that medical transport your allies sent.”

The Champion grits his teeth. “Two days. We’ll both go. Open communication lines and our own room.”  

Lotor tilts his head ever so slightly, his smile thin. “Granted.”

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting on my gdocs for over a month... I was mostly trying to look at a potential other dynamic for Sheithtor and this happened... technically I could expand on it but then I have... a lot of multichapters already sob. We'll see.


End file.
